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In today's intensely competitive business environment, it is usually difficult to stay afloat, particularly when you're a small home business owner functioning on shoestring budget. You don't have access to viable means and amenities to compete directly with large business houses and serve a broad spectrum of consumers. In such an adverse business scenario, niche marketing emerges as the most feasible and cost effective strategy that can help home business owners to stay ahead of their competitors and maximize their profits.

'What exactly is niche marketing and how can it help my home business to prosper?' This is the most pertinent question that must be impinging your mind at this juncture. Before introducing you to the technicalities of the concept of niche marketing, it would be worthwhile to focus the floodlights on niche market, first. Niche market is a narrowly focused portion market that can easily be targeted. The nature of your niche market and the effectiveness of your niche marketing strategies are intricately intertwined. Hence, to ensure overall growth of your home business, you would have to devise your niche marketing strategies according to your niche market.

You cannot frame effectual niche marketing strategies unless you're familiar with your niche market. Identifying a niche market is all about finding a distinct segment of consumers whose needs you'll be able to fulfill successfully. For instance, you're a copywriter with expertise in writing brochures, then your niche market would include all those consumers who require brochures time and again. Once, you've identified your niche market, conduct a thorough competitive analysis to identify your direct competitors as well as determine what niche marketing strategies they are using to stay ahead.

It is usually believed that a niche market without any competitors is the best territory to establish home business. To an extend this perception is true. It may be possible that other home business owners may not have discovered your niche market. However, it may also be possible that many may have tried and failed to penetrate the territory. Hence, to maintain your risks at a manageable level, it is advisable to access your niche market's receptiveness to your products and services first.

Upon completion of the process of identification of niche market, you would have to plan out strategies to market your products or services in your niche market, and this is what niche marketing is all about. Some potent niche marketing strategies with respect to home business are as follows:

' Before approaching your niche market, try to acquire as much knowledge about the needs of your target audience as possible. By abiding by this niche marketing strategy, you would be able to address the problems of your prospects as an understanding member rather than an outsider. Once, you succeed in winning the confidence of your potential customers, it will become easier for you to sell your products or services to them.

' Don't commit the mistake of using the same method to solve problems of different nature. For instance, you sell leather products primarily to men. Now, you want to include working women in your niche market. In order to do so, you would require leather products exclusively for working women. You cannot convince a woman to buy products that are solely for men. In other words, you cannot solve a woman's problem with men's products.

' Market your product or service in a manner that will compel your target audience to believe that this is exactly what they need or what they have been looking for. Be prepared to spend time and resource to educate your target audience about your unique product or service. Convince them that only your product or service has the potential to solve their problems forever.

' The last, but the most important niche marketing strategy is to make your target audience believe that your home business is genuine, and not a fragment of an entrepreneur's wild imagination. To achieve credibility, you would have to highlight your home business in all your marketing materials as brochures, websites, press releases and even your business cards.

After going through this comprehensive account on niche market and niche marketing, it can be deduced that the right mix of niche marketing strategies is all that is required by the home business owner to excel.